7,694 research outputs found
Entropy production and equilibration in Yang-Mills quantum mechanics
The Husimi distribution provides for a coarse grained representation of the
phase space distribution of a quantum system, which may be used to track the
growth of entropy of the system. We present a general and systematic method of
solving the Husimi equation of motion for an isolated quantum system, and we
construct a coarse grained Hamiltonian whose expectation value is exactly
conserved. As an application, we numerically solve the Husimi equation of
motion for two-dimensional Yang-Mills quantum mechanics (the x-y model) and
calculate the time evolution of the coarse grained entropy of a highly excited
state. We show that the coarse grained entropy saturates to a value that
coincides with the microcanonical entropy corresponding to the energy of the
system.Comment: 23 pages, 23 figure
Toll-like receptor 3 activation is required for normal skin barrier repair following UV damage.
UV damage to the skin leads to the release of noncoding RNA (ncRNA) from necrotic keratinocytes that activates Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3). This release of ncRNA triggers inflammation in the skin following UV damage. Recently, TLR3 activation was also shown to aid wound repair and increase the expression of genes associated with permeability barrier repair. Here, we sought to test whether skin barrier repair after UVB damage is dependent on the activation of TLR3. We observed that multiple ncRNAs induced expression of skin barrier repair genes, that the TLR3 ligand Poly (I:C) also induced expression and function of tight junctions, and that the ncRNA U1 acts in a TLR3-dependent manner to induce expression of skin barrier repair genes. These observations were shown to have functional relevance as Tlr3-/- mice displayed a delay in skin barrier repair following UVB damage. Combined, these data further validate the conclusion that recognition of endogenous RNA by TLR3 is an important step in the program of skin barrier repair
Andromeda's Parachute: A Bright Quadruply Lensed Quasar at z=2.377
We present Keck Cosmic Web Imager spectroscopy of the four putative images of
the lensed quasar candidate J014709+463037 recently discovered by Berghea et
al. (2017). The data verify the source as a quadruply lensed, broad
absorption-line quasar having z_S = 2.377 +/- 0.007. We detect intervening
absorption in the FeII 2586, 2600, MgII 2796, 2803, and/or CIV 1548, 1550
transitions in eight foreground systems, three of which have redshifts
consistent with the photometric-redshift estimate reported for the lensing
galaxy (z_L ~ 0.57). By virtue of their positions on the sky, the source images
probe these absorbers over transverse physical scales of ~0.3-21 kpc,
permitting assessment of the variation in metal-line equivalent width W_r as a
function of sight-line separation. We measure differences in W_r,2796 of <40%
across all sight-line pairs subtending 7-21 kpc, suggestive of a high degree of
spatial coherence for MgII-absorbing material. W_r,2600 is observed to vary by
>50% over the same scales across the majority of sight-line pairs, while CIV
absorption exhibits a wide range in W_r,1548 differences of ~5-80% within
transverse distances less than ~3 kpc. J014709+463037 is one of only a handful
of z > 2 quadruply lensed systems for which all four source images are very
bright (r = 15.4-17.7 mag) and are easily separated in ground-based seeing
conditions. As such, it is an ideal candidate for higher-resolution
spectroscopy probing the spatial variation in the kinematic structure and
physical state of intervening absorbers.Comment: Submitted to ApJL. 9 pages, 3 figures. Uses aastex61 forma
Extracting density-density correlations from in situ images of atomic quantum gases
We present a complete recipe to extract the density-density correlations and
the static structure factor of a two-dimensional (2D) atomic quantum gas from
in situ imaging. Using images of non-interacting thermal gases, we characterize
and remove the systematic contributions of imaging aberrations to the measured
density-density correlations of atomic samples. We determine the static
structure factor and report results on weakly interacting 2D Bose gases, as
well as strongly interacting gases in a 2D optical lattice. In the strongly
interacting regime, we observe a strong suppression of the static structure
factor at long wavelengths.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
An innovative blockchain-based traceability framework for industry 4.0 cyber-physical factory
Industry 4.0 is currently transforming the industrial landscape through the use of innovative technologies and novel data management approaches. The incorporation of Industry 4.0 brought new dimensions of improvement and autonomy into the existing industrial manufacturing processes which has also led to increased expectations for traceability in manufacturing. Traceability enables the tracking of every part and product of the manufacturing process giving insights into each manufactured component and its full history across each operation step that helps manufacturers improve quality and efficiency. Despite the huge potential in facilitating the optimization of the production lines, product traceability has remained a challenging topic in mass manufacturing. Hence, in this paper, an innovative Blockchain-based framework is proposed to integrate the processes of a real production line using the Industry 4.0 Festo Cyber-Physical Factory located at London Digital Twin Research Centre, Middlesex University. Blockchain technology is a distributed and shared database of events for a product life cycle that is encrypted in blocks or smaller data units. This paper introduces a viable blockchain-based framework implemented within a real smart product assembly for internal traceability within the production process in order to improve the security by preventing counterfeiting, identify specific problems on the production lin
Versatile transporter apparatus for experiments with optically trapped Bose-Einstein condensates
We describe a versatile and simple scheme for producing magnetically and
optically-trapped Rb-87 Bose-Einstein condensates, based on a moving-coil
transporter apparatus. The apparatus features a TOP trap that incorporates the
movable quadrupole coils used for magneto-optical trapping and long-distance
magnetic transport of atomic clouds. As a stand-alone device, this trap allows
for the stable production of condensates containing up to one million atoms. In
combination with an optical dipole trap, the TOP trap acts as a funnel for
efficient loading, after which the quadrupole coils can be retracted, thereby
maximizing optical access. The robustness of this scheme is illustrated by
realizing the superfluid-to-Mott insulator transition in a three-dimensional
optical lattice
Symmetry Factors of Feynman Diagrams for Scalar Fields
The symmetry factor of Feynman diagrams for real and complex scalar fields is
presented. Being analysis of Wick expansion for Green functions, the mentioned
factor is derived in a general form. The symmetry factor can be separated into
two ones corresponding to that of connected and vacuum diagrams. The
determination of symmetry factors for the vacuum diagrams is necessary as they
play a role in the effective action and phase transitions in cosmology. In the
complex scalar theory the diagrams different in topology may give the same
contribution, hence inverse of the symmetry factor (1/S) for total contribution
is a summation of each similar ones (1/S_i), i.e., 1/S = \sum_i (1/S_i).Comment: Journal version, new references adde
GALEX Detection of Shock Breakout in Type II-P Supernova PS1-13arp: Implications for the Progenitor Star Wind
We present the GALEX detection of a UV burst at the time of explosion of an
optically normal Type II-P supernova (PS1-13arp) from the Pan-STARRS1 survey at
z=0.1665. The temperature and luminosity of the UV burst match the theoretical
predictions for shock breakout in a red supergiant, but with a duration a
factor of ~50 longer than expected. We compare the light curve of
PS1-13arp to previous GALEX detections of Type IIP SNe, and find clear
distinctions that indicate that the UV emission is powered by shock breakout,
and not by the subsequent cooling envelope emission previously detected in
these systems. We interpret the ~ 1 d duration of the UV signal with a shock
breakout in the wind of a red supergiant with a pre-explosion mass-loss rate of
~ 10^-3 Msun yr^-1. This mass-loss rate is enough to prolong the duration of
the shock breakout signal, but not enough to produce an excess in the optical
plateau light curve or narrow emission lines powered by circumstellar
interaction. This detection of non-standard, potentially episodic high
mass-loss in a RSG SN progenitor has favorable consequences for the prospects
of future wide-field UV surveys to detect shock breakout directly in these
systems, and provide a sensitive probe of the pre-explosion conditions of SN
progenitors.Comment: Accepted for Publication in Ap
Single-Atom Resolved Fluorescence Imaging of an Atomic Mott Insulator
The reliable detection of single quantum particles has revolutionized the
field of quantum optics and quantum information processing. For several years,
researchers have aspired to extend such detection possibilities to larger scale
strongly correlated quantum systems, in order to record in-situ images of a
quantum fluid in which each underlying quantum particle is detected. Here we
report on fluorescence imaging of strongly interacting bosonic Mott insulators
in an optical lattice with single-atom and single-site resolution. From our
images, we fully reconstruct the atom distribution on the lattice and identify
individual excitations with high fidelity. A comparison of the radial density
and variance distributions with theory provides a precise in-situ temperature
and entropy measurement from single images. We observe Mott-insulating plateaus
with near zero entropy and clearly resolve the high entropy rings separating
them although their width is of the order of only a single lattice site.
Furthermore, we show how a Mott insulator melts for increasing temperatures due
to a proliferation of local defects. Our experiments open a new avenue for the
manipulation and analysis of strongly interacting quantum gases on a lattice,
as well as for quantum information processing with ultracold atoms. Using the
high spatial resolution, it is now possible to directly address individual
lattice sites. One could, e.g., introduce local perturbations or access regions
of high entropy, a crucial requirement for the implementation of novel cooling
schemes for atoms on a lattice
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